Two climbers missing in Cairngorms

A search is under way for two ice climbers who have been missing overnight in the Cairngorms in "dreadful" weather conditions.
The pair, who were climbing in the Coire an t-Sneachda area where there is waist high snow in some places, were last seen on Sunday afternoon.

The alarm was raised when the men, both from the Aberdeen area, failed to turn up at a meeting point.

Mountain rescue teams and an RAF helicopter are involved in the search.

A spokesman for Northern Constabulary said one of the missing men was in his late teens and the other in his early 20s.

Winds in the area have been gusting at up to 70 miles an hour, lowering the temperature to -20C.

During the night an RAF rescue helicopter from Lossiemouth carried out a search using an infra-red camera, but nothing was found.

The ground search, involving Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team and a team from RAF Kinloss, was due to resume at first light.